Free diving legend goes missing off Spanish coast

Natalia Molchanova, widely regarded as the greatest free diver in history, wore her favourite purple wet suit on Sunday on a boat off the coast of Formentera, an island near Ibiza. Only 1.5 millimeters thick, the wetsuit was designed specifically for divers like her who want to go deep on a single breath. It was a Molchanova, the brand she started with her son, Alexey Molchanov. On the Balearic Sea, off the eastern coast of Spain, Molchanova attached a neck weight — a pound or two, at most — that would help her descend. Then she dipped into the water to begin what divers call breathing up. To relax deeply, she would inhale for a few seconds, and then exhale twice as long and twice as deep. Those may have been among Molchanova last breaths. She then proceeded to attempt a recreational dive to a depth that was modest for her, and she never resurfaced. After two days of intense search efforts, Alexey Molchanov said on Tuesday that his mother, 53, was not expected to be found alive. "She was a free-diving superstar," said Kimmo Lahtinen, president of the global federation for freediving (AIDA). "Nothing could happen to her, but, you know, we are playing with the ocean, and when you play with the ocean, you know who is the strongest one," Lahtinen said. Molchanova, a Russian, holds dozens of world records. On Sunday, she and three fellow divers were taking a few dives for fun, her son said. When she did not surface, her fellow divers conducted a brief search before calling for help. A competitive swimmer in Russia before leaving the sport to have a family, Molchanova went on to set 41 world records and claim 23 world championship titles in free diving. "Free diving is not only sport, it's a way to understand who we are," Molchanova said in an interview last year. Molchanova has been on the faculty of a university in Moscow and has written instructional manuals on free diving and a volume of poetry.  "She is a force, and having even gotten close to what she's done was hugely gratifying and a source of pride, and ultimately she's the one to learn from," said American diver Ashley Chapman, one of the few to break one of Molchanova records. If her body is not recovered, no one will ever know for sure what happened underwater. By Tuesday night, Molchanova son had accepted the likelihood that much would remain unknown. "It seems she'll stay in the sea," he said, "I think she would like that."